Inspiring Visual Arts

Come Play – Gallery 344

“Come Play!”—on view at Cambridge Arts’ Gallery 344, 344 Broadway, Cambridge, from Feb. 11 to April 30, 2019—offers a free arcade of cardboard games for visitors to play. A public reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 11 (snow date: Feb. 25).

The games were developed by undergraduate students at Lesley Art + Design in Cambridge during the fall of 2018 and spring 2019. They are part of a user experience challenge from the interactive design course. The games range from navigating a maze to a battleship battle to an intestellar raid.

The projects were inspired by “Caine’s Arcade,” Nirvan Mullick’s 2012 short video about 9-year-old Caine Monroy, who built a homemade arcade out of cardboard in his father’s auto parts shop in East Los Angeles. Monroy’s playful ingenuity exemplifies accessible design, rapid prototyping, and user testing. His arcade was a delightful example of an interactive installation inviting the public to play.

This exhibition was organized by Lesley Art + Design students and faculty Ryan McQuade, Design/Interactive Design BFA program, and the Office of Community Engagement, in partnership with Cambridge Arts.